You spend enough time in the taproom already, let’s make this union official. The 2019 XL Brew Club is accepting new members beginning on Black Friday. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Black Friday can be a grind.

Your only options are to stay locked in your house to endure more family drama, or set your alarm for the buttcrack of dawn and get trampled at a Walmart as you scrum for a $100 flat screen. Thankfully this year can be different.

Head on down to the brewery to pick up an XL Brew Mug Club membership for 2019. It’s the best gift of the year.

While it may be limited edition, we promise no jujitsu is required to secure it. Moreover every purchase comes with a cool hat for yourself, a cold beer and a legit excuse to leave your brother-in-law at home.

It’s the triple threat of the holiday season.

Membership Details

For only one Ben Franklin ($100) you can become an EBC VIP and start your year off right with features like:

A free pint with purchase

A stylish mug—what’s a king without his chalice?

20 oz beers for the price of a 16 oz for all of 2019—that means 10 beers for the price of eight (that’s one helluva Tuesday night)

An exclusive Mug Club Cap—a slick subtle design for members only

Membership card— time to class up that velcro wallet

$2 Growlers (except Tuesdays)—so you can take the party off site occasionally

VIP Access to Tent Parties when applicable—Cut the line like 1%er, leaving the commoners in your wake

We are offering only 200 Mug Club Memberships for 2019, so come on down Friday once the leftovers are cold and you grow weary of Aunt Edna’s political rants.

You just might run into a dozen of your old high school friends– who will no doubt lament what a townie you’ve become…albeit a townie with a sweet hat.

*Quarterly XL Brew Club events feature guest speakers, musicians, games, complimentary snacks & often the release of a new beer. Each event will be a mystery and event details only to be revealed at arrival.

**Occasionally we will release beers early to members only during regular taproom hours. Only members can get the beer on that day.

It’s Chriskindlmarkt, the return of the traditional German celebration that few can pronounce, less can spell, but all ages can enjoy. This year with crafts, evening bonfires, s’more bar and live music, Friday through Sunday at 10am 11/23-11/25.

The preeminent fall event for families is back. Here are the top five reasons you should plan to stop by Friday – Sunday beginning November 23rd.

Top Five Reasons to Chriskindlmarkt

#5- S’mores—hit our s’more bar featuring a seasonal brew with a graham cracker rimmed glass and a marshmallow inside. Is this dessert or beer? Yes, yes it is.

#4- St Nick & Reindeer- if you need to shore up a belief in the fat man, seeing is believing. Rumor is that Santa will be here and he may be bringing reindeer. This can quell the harshest skeptic, even if it is you.

#3- Nightly Bonfires- few scenes are as cozy and romantic as snuggling beside a roaring bonfire. It helped spindly Daniel LaRusso impress a young Elizabeth Shue, it just might work for you.

#2 All Ages Fun- even the music offers age diversity. The 70s Magic Sunshine band can make anyone smile Saturday night and you can put on your dancing shoes with a swing band at noon. No one can Charleston like Klicker, no one.

#1- Socially Acceptable Day Drinking—we open at 10am each and every day of Chriskindlmarkt. Put the kids to work on crafts and load up on some holiday spirit… 20 oz at a time.

Kick your holiday season off right with a visit to CHRISKINDLMARKT. A full schedule of events is below.

The good news is that another epic mashup for fall has just arrived in six-packs.

RipRap Peanut Butter Cup Stout

It’s RipRap Peanut Butter Cup Stout –featuring all of the full-bodied taste of our popular stout, infused with the subtle roasty sweetness of peanut butter cups. Together they create the perfect elixir to fuel your Halloween parties, bonfires and other autumnal fun.

The brew is the brainchild of Head Brewer Niles Lewin who had enough leftover candy after Halloween last year to brew a ½ pound per keg into one of our most popular beers. The result is a hit in our taproom and has been so successful that we’re rolling out six-packs– just in time for Halloween.

Also available in half barrel and sixth barrel kegs, the brew is perfect as a post trick-or-treat “recovery drink” for tired parental chaperones, or as an accompaniment to your costume party.

Rip Rap

The new stout is named after rip rap, the rock and rubble used on the shorelines of a lake to prevent erosion. Rip rap serves as an important firewall to protect a lake’s delicate ecosystem. It’s namesake brew can serve as your firewall to enjoy the autumn season and stave off winter for a bit.

So join us in holding winter at bay a little while longer, grab a sixer and embrace fall with a mashup for the ages.

It has come to our attention that there is a similarly named party that takes place in Germany around the same time. This has led to some confusion as this other party is has gained in popularity, rivaling even that of Docktoberfest.

We’d like to put that confusion to rest by clarifying a few key points.

Docktoberfest vs Oktoberfest- which is better?

Quantity vs Quality

Oktoberfest is an 18-day event that technically starts in September (!) and somehow is spelled with a K. Konfusing no?

Docktoberfest distills the revelry into a tight three days, all of which actually take place in October. It’s all the fun, with 6x less hangovers and 100% less plane tickets.

Advantage: Docktoberfest

HistoryOktoberfest originated in 1810 and commemorates the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig. (Yay Wikipedia!) It was a wedding Ludwig committed to for about five minutes before beginning several affairs that kept him occupied when he wasn’t busy running Bavaria into the ground. He was later forced to abdicate the throne after “Beer Riots in Bavaria”. Note to self: this would be a fantastic band name.

Docktoberfest dates all the way back to 2012 and celebrates the harvesting of the docks on Lake Minnetonka. This is an annual event that no one named Ludwig partakes in, in any capacity. Excelsior Brewing also has no Wikipedia entry to date, so all of our scandals are only available on the dark web.

Advantage: Docktoberfest

Beer

Docktoberfest features beers brewed in the German tradition. These include Docktoberfest Märzen, Bitteschlappe German Brown Ale, Portside Pilsner, Helios Hefeweizen, and Saucy Kate Kolsch.

Oktoberfest features German beer brewed by actual Germans.

Advantage: Oktoberfest

World Wars

Oktoberfest takes place in Germany, currently sitting with a lifetime record of 0-2 in World Wars.

Docktoberfest takes place in the US of A. Undefeated and Undisputed at 2-0.

Advantage: Docktoberfest

Local

Oktoberfest is embraced worldwide with celebrations in all corners of the globe, including something called Lacrosse in a state where macaroni and cheese counts as a vegetable.

Docktoberfest is ours and ours alone. It celebrates the rich history of Lake Minnetonka, Excelsior and Minnesota. A community so bad ass that here the Super Bowl is a home game.

Advantage: Docktoberfest

As you can see Docktoberfest checks in with a massive 4-1 thrashing of that other fall beer festival with the spelling problem. With 12 bands, incredible food and beer, Docktoberfest is truly a party for the ages.

Join us in our massive tent and treat yourself to the rager that marks the center of our events calendar.

It all starts at 4pm on Friday October 6th and runs through Sunday, so pull your dock, it’s time to rock.

Why a bass fishing tourney you ask? Because none of the other species of fish stack up.

• Sunnies are essentially the light beer of the lake. They are easy to find and you can hammer as many in a sitting as you like. They are less than exciting and only satisfying for the naïve.

• Walleye are more like fine wine. They taste great, but typically are only out when the sun goes down and before sunup. Both are beloved by connoisseurs and pacifists alike because they have no real fight in them.

• Perch are like an umbrella drink. Sure, they look exotic, but you wouldn’t consume one if you had an alternative. No one sets out in pursuit of either, it just sometimes happens.

• Musky remind us of 12-year-old scotch. Tough to get your hands on, only good when aged. They are a one-off we aspire to for a special occasion.

That leaves bass. What makes bass so special? Because they are exactly like our customers.
Bass…

• Have large mouths

• Are territorial

• Fight when provoked

• Eat even when not hungry

• Hang out in groups by docks

Face it, if bass had legs they’d be in our taproom BS-ing about the Vikings. Clearly they are the only species of fish worthy of the EBC name.

After five years of brewing great beer, we’ve seen a lot–and we’ve learned even more. On the eve of our 5th Beerthday we’d share five “lessons learned” from our first half decade.

Five Lessons from Five Years at Excelsior Brewing

1. If you can only have one beer on tap, make it malt liquor!

When we opened in 2012, we had a few kinks to work out of our brewing system. Kinks that led to an inaugural batch of surprisingly tasty and shockingly potent beer. Bridge Jumper was born and fueled a legendary grand opening for the ages (that no one who drank it remembers).

What this taught us: Only bust out the good stuff for special occasions. Like our fifth Beerthday weekend July 1st, where we are resurrecting original Bridge Jumper for a limited time run.

2. If you build it they will come… even if it is a work in progress

Who would go to a taproom with plastic lawn chairs, no TV and a single bathroom?

Turns out an s-load of people, that’s who.

Prior to our taproom expansion in 2014, that was our value proposition. And yet, people came in such droves that we were forced to more than double our space and seriously up our interior design game.

We added an expansive bar, actual furniture, an outdoor seating area and the novelty of separate bathrooms! It’s still the same five conversations every night, but now they’re happening in a great atmosphere.

What this taught us: Great beer is vital, but what makes this brewery unique is our patrons.

3. The DNR is pretty bad ass

Turns out if you make beer out of zebra mussels and milfoil, you get a ton of media attention. Unfortunately the DNR guys also noticed and harvesting invasive species without a permit is illegal.

What this taught us: You can’t pay a DNR fine in beer. So if you enter our bass tourney on July 22nd, buy a fishing license!

4. Beer lovers are diverse

People show up at the taproom for any number of reasons. It could be the great beer or because we’re dog friendly or bike accessible. Maybe they love our live music, cribbage, yoga, the farmer’s market or myriad other event offerings. The thing is that once they come, they always come back. Even at 2pm on a Tuesday (!) .

What this taught us: What brings you here isn’t important, but what makes you stay is. To that end we offer great beer an awesome location and friendly staff.

5. Everyone wants in

Perhaps the best lesson in five years of brewing beer is that EVERYONE wants to help. This applies when you are building out a taproom, staffing said taproom, constructing a website or anything else.

For a pint and a handshake people will bust their tail for you just to be able to be a part of a collaboration like this.

What this taught us: The Lake Minnetonka community is a special place. We already knew it, but it has been reinforced a million times in a million ways.

To thank you for being a part of it and in honor of your commitment to us, we’d like to invite you to our Beerthday Party on Saturday, July 1st. We’ll not only celebrate the memories, but to begin to build some new ones. We’ll have

· Live music from Bitter Roots, Sonically Speaking and Ipso Facto · A 5k road race

· Original Bridge Jumper on tap

· A few surprises

In lieu of gifts we ask that you bring a canned food item for ICA food shelf.

Join us, it won’t be the same without you. Together we can work to make our next five years even better.

5- It’ll Give Those New Year’s Resolutions a Shot in the ArmMost resolutions fail early. Scheduling a bike race on Jan 14th will build some much needed accountability for that annual “get in shape” edict.

Believe it or not, holiday party season is just around the corner. Our taproom is now accepting reservations and can accommodate groups from 10 -150 for private to semi-private events.

We offer a variety of options for every budget from our Super Santa Package (open bar) all the way down to Grinch-level (cash only). So if your company is considering booking space, we’d love you to consider our taproom.

Still not sold? Here are the Top Five Reasons to Book Our Taproom for Your Holiday Party

#5 – Studies show few things are as universally beloved as beer– that’s true with millennials, Gen-X and baby boomers. Now your holiday party can also serve as the cornerstone of your company’s diversity and inclusion plan. That’s win-win.

#4 – A party at a brewery trumps a seated dinner any day. No longer are you locked-in to a poor seating choice made early in the night. At the brewery, bailing on a bad conversation is as simple as polishing off your pint and hoofing it to higher ground.

#3 – When you have an EBC party on the calendar, an IOU for a pint of beer becomes a viable Secret Santa gift.

#2 –With space to accommodate up to 150 guests, you can open up your team’s party to interns, temps, spouses and more. This avoids the awkwardness of holiday rejection.

#1 – Let’s face it, sales are down. A few cold beers may be your only bonus this year!

A holiday party at EBC truly is the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season. For details on how to book a party along with answers to common questions, check out our Space Rental Page or contact Caroline at caroline@excelsiorbrew.com.

Professional golf is a sport played by gentlemen and ladies. It is characterized by solitary contemplation, internal battles and perseverance– always with a focus on decorum, honor and respect…

and then there is the Ryder Cup.

Like Caddy Day at the Bushwood pool, it is the very antithesis of the norm.

The Ryder Cup is different than any other tournament because it flips the script entirely. At cup matches, team play, nationalism and camaraderie trump the staid tradition of the stuffy individual sport from Scotland –and it is glorious.

Polite golf claps are replaced by hugs, fist pumps and fanfare. Boisterous fans come out in droves, geared up like a Colin Kaepernick nightmare, ready to cheer their country on to victory. It is the ugly Americans versus the snooty Europeans and it is unlike any other tournament in the world.

And this year all of the excitement is local as Chaska’s Hazeltine National Golf Club will host the event September 27th – October 2nd.

The lessons that the Ryder Cup format teaches us are that teamwork and local pride are game-changers. Golf as an individual sport is fine, but when golf meets nationalism and combines a team element, it is taken to the next level.

It is in this same spirit of teamwork and local pride that we introduce a new Ryder Cup tribute beer, our Rye-Der IPA.

This limited edition wet-hopped India Pale Ale is as local as it gets using hops sourced from Mound and Navarre. Perhaps more notable, these hops went from plant to brew in less than 24 hours and it took a team to do it. Taproom regulars combined with staff to source every batch of hops and refine the recipe to deliver the full flavor of each and every one.

It is a truly Minnesota beer for celebration of a Minnesota event. But it is only available this week (9/26) in our taproom.

Be sure to stop in on Friday night as we’ve got the pre-eminent Hall and Oates cover band, Private Oates slated to headline at 9:30pm and kick the party into high gear.

So get local, find a team and grab a pint, it’s time to show our Minnesota pride.